Sony has set up a new studio in the UK that will make games for its Project Morpheus virtual reality headset.
North West Studio, as it’s rather unimaginatively called, is to focus exclusively on VR games.
While there’s been no official announcement from Sony, confirmation of this new studio’s existence has appeared via job listings on the PlayStation Jobs website.
“We are still in the early planning phase with this studio, and are currently focused on hiring the right team,” a Sony spokesperson confirmed to Eurogamer.
According to the gaming website, the new studio is being set up in Manchester (hence North West Games, presumably), and will involve staff from the recently diminished Evolution Studios. Evolution is the racing game specialist behind Driveclub for PS4 and, prior to that, the MotorStorm series for PS3.
Apparently, prior to a recent round of layoffs at the Sony-owned studio, the company had a number of virtual reality prototypes in the works – including a VR version of Driveclub. It would seem natural for North West Studios to continue this work.
See also: Oculus Rift vs Project Morpheus – VR tech compared
The Project Morpheus headset itself is set to launch in the first half of 2016. The company outed a brand new and improved version of the VR headset at GDC 2015 in March.
This latest version features a 5.7-inch OLED screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, and with an expanded 100 degree view for a more immersive experience. It also increases the number of external blue LED trackers to nine for more accurate head tracking.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
